CALGARY - WestJet Airlines will use its new fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft to ramp up its flight offerings in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The Calgary-based airline announced Tuesday that its new regional service, Encore, will allow it to enhance its schedule in a number of cities where it already operates. Using the same turboprop planes it will use to fly to small communities not previously served by WestJet, the airline will also increase the number of flights servicing Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, and Saskatoon this summer.

Last week, WestJet named Nanaimo and Fort St. John, B.C. as the first two new destinations to be served by Encore. One of the purposes of Encore is to allow WestJet to compete with Air Canada in the smaller, regional market, but WestJet will also use the smaller planes to fly to enhance service to larger communities.

“In addition to new destinations, we are now able to effectively connect cities that have WestJet service but not between each other or, in some cases, now offer service year-round,” said Ferio Pugliese, president of WestJet Encore. “It also allows us to operate more efficiently, since these aircraft have the right amount of seats needed on certain routes or at certain times of the day. This versatility opens up many new possibilities to serve even more Canadians in the future.”

WestJet’s current service between Calgary and Grande Prairie is seasonal — Tuesday’s announcement will mean year-round service starting in August. The number of daily flights between Calgary and Edmonton will increase to nine from seven in September. Between Edmonton and Grande Prairie, WestJet will increase the number of daily flights to three from two by September.

Starting June 24, the number of daily flights between Calgary and Saskatoon will increase to five from four. As part of WestJet’s 2013 summer schedule, both Saskatoon and Regina will see the addition of three more flights per week to Toronto.

WestJet Encore will take delivery of its first two 78-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft in June 2013 and add five more by the end of the year. WestJet has firm orders for a total of 20 Q400s and options for an additional 25 over the next six years.

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